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The issue is, of course, extremely serious. Some of the longer-term work that we are doing, including the homelessness prevention duties in the new housing bill, will be relevant.

I should, though, point out some of the information that has already been published on referrals with regard to people becoming homeless and the tenure that they previously had. A significant reduction in respect of the private rented sector has been showing up in the statistics over the period; in fact, I think that the figure has come down to pre-pandemic levels.

Adam Krawczyk might have found the graph that I have just been frantically searching for. Adam—is there anything you can say about the figures that you have in front of you?

Obviously, we stay in touch with the tribunal on the impacts with regard to the design and, now, implementation of the legislation, and we will continue to be in close contact on the implications of any further changes. What is worth reflecting on, though, is that even once the 2022 act comes to an end and ceases to apply, tenants will have the high levels of protection that they had before it. Indeed, the UK Government itself is now starting to introduce some aspects of that protection; I welcome its change of position in that respect. The end of the emergency legislation will not mean the end of tenant protection—not by a long way; tenants will return to the high level of legal rights and protection that existed prior to it.

We continue to keep a close eye on the issue. We are aware of anecdotal evidence that landlords have been talking about it. Some cite the temporary cost of living measures in the 2022 act as one factor; I have heard from a number of landlords for whom changes in UK tax policy have been a bigger motivation in their decisions about whether to consider leaving the sector.

On the actual evidence, though, the number of properties registered for private rent in Scotland under the registration scheme has not changed significantly. We are conscious that there is likely to be a bit of a time lag in the collection of the data, but at the moment the figures do not show a significant reduction in the number of properties available.

As I said, we will continue to keep under review the proportionality and necessity of the measures. The next report that I mentioned is due by mid-October; it will inform the committee’s consideration of our proposals at that stage. As was set out in the statement of reasons that we published in June, we believe that the evidence is sufficient to justify continuation of the rent cap. Any subsequent variation in the level of the cap would be likely to be covered in the report in October.

The cost crisis is continuing to have an impact, and we need to recognise that that continued impact is being felt by tenants as well as by landlords. It has always been part of the design of the legislation to recognise the protection that tenants need, but it also recognises that safeguards for landlords are needed and that there must be a proper balance between those needs.

The fact is that the economic circumstances have not fundamentally changed. The cost crisis has not fundamentally gone away and, even if the hopeful projections around reduced inflation come to pass in the months ahead, people are still living with the increased costs that they have been landed with. That applies to tenants as well as to landlords and does not change the fundamental calculation that we have made about the balance between protection of rents and the safeguards for landlords that we have proposed.

That question is hugely important, and Ivan McKee is right to point to that power in the legislation. It allows an adjustment to be made to the rent adjudication process, the idea of which is to prevent an immediate cliff edge when the temporary emergency legislation is switched off. We are still at the point of exploring the options to make the most effective use of that power. I am afraid that I am not able to publish detailed proposals on that, but we can expect them to come forward in time for expiry of the rent cap.

I turn to Yvette Sheppard. Are we able to say anything more at this point on the expected timescale? I know that dialogue has taken place on the subject with stakeholders, too.

I come back to the difference between the longer-term development of housing policy and legislation, the new housing bill and the homelessness prevention duties and the good level of dialogue that we are having with the sector in the broadest terms as we take forward that work and, in this instance, the specific tests that we have to go through that were required under the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 to justify the necessity and proportionality of not only continuing but, in this case, extending the provisions. Under the legislation, we remain under the duty to keep that test of proportionality and necessity under on-going review and to expire provisions that we can no longer justify in those terms. The extension to next March at the latest does not remove the requirement on us to continue to carry out that on-going review.

I had a meeting with Graeme Dey the other week and we talked about the connections between the Scottish Government’s approach to what we are trying to achieve in energy terms, the impact on skills and the potential role that the college sector can play. There are a great many colleges around the country, and one of the first that I visited in this role was in Dumfries, in the south of Scotland. It was investing in additional capacity because it knew that that demand was coming and that those skills would be needed. I challenge the idea that it is only happening in the central belt or in big cities—it is happening around the country.

Inevitably, a great many of these decisions about the capacity for training and skills around the country will be determined by the industry’s demand for such skills. That is why, as I said earlier, the Government’s approach to regulating—which is to create demand in the first place—is absolutely central to giving industry the confidence to invest. If it knows what skills will be required and what demand will be generated, it will ensure that those skills are invested in and supplied and that we have that wider supply chain capacity. The one thing that we could do to imperil investment in skills or the wider supply chain is to say, “Actually, we’re going to take a step back and delay or water down the regulations.” The regulations are a necessary part of setting the conditions for the investment that we need.

It is nice to be back with the committee again. I am pleased to be here to present the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 (Amendment of Expiry Date) Regulations 2023.

As colleagues know, the 2022 emergency act came into force on 28 October last year and, since then, has provided additional protection for tenants in what remain challenging economic times. The act originally ran to 31 March 2023 and has been extended once, until the end of this current month.

In June, I published a statement of reasons for the second proposed extension of the emergency act. As part of that report, and in line with the requirements of the act, I set out the intention for the measures in the act to be extended for a further, and final, six months to 31 March 2024.

The report provides updated data and economic analysis that shows that the challenging economic position has not yet fundamentally changed and that many households in the private rented sector in particular continue to struggle. For example, according to recent YouGov polling for the Scottish Government, in August 2023, levels of concern in relation to paying rent were twice as high in the private rented sector, at 27 per cent, compared to those in relation to paying rent or mortgages across all tenures as a whole, at 12 per cent. That has not improved since the polling in March 2023.

It was recently announced that the energy price cap will reduce, but it is reducing from a very high level, and the positive impact on fuel poverty rates is offset by the UK Government’s decision to withdraw the energy bills support scheme, under which £400 was paid to all households last winter.

Meanwhile, the freezing of local housing allowance rates by the UK Government for the third consecutive year is yet another reason why those in lower-income households in the private rented sector who access local housing allowance will find it more difficult to afford rental properties.

The picture has changed somewhat since a year ago, but circumstances remain very difficult for many tenants, and many households that are on low and modest incomes continue to feel the strain of cost of living pressures. For those reasons, the regulations seek to extend the application of part 1 of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 in its current form—including the rent cap measures for the private rented sector, the eviction moratorium provisions across all rented sectors that the act covers, and other important protections—until 31 March 2024 at the latest.

In reaching that position, I have reflected on the views that stakeholders and partners have expressed and I have sought to find the right balance, under the statutory duty, to ensure that the provisions do not remain in place for longer than is necessary in connection with the cost crisis. I also recognise the on-going impacts that the cost crisis is having on some private landlords. The private sector rent cap is set at 3 per cent, but there is a safeguard for landlords, who can alternatively opt to apply to rent service Scotland for a rent increase of up to 6 per cent if their defined, prescribed property costs have increased within a specified period. I know that some landlords are using that safeguard—1,031 of them had submitted such an application to rent service Scotland as of 1 September.

I turn to our proposed continuation of the eviction moratorium provisions. Tenants in the private and social rented sectors, and those who live in student accommodation, will continue to benefit from the additional time to find alternative accommodation that the six-month pause in the enforcement of eviction action provides. In addition, they are protected from private landlords seeking to end a tenancy in order to raise rents above the cap, and the provisions reduce unlawful evictions by increasing the level of damages that are payable.

As with the rent cap, the eviction moratorium provisions include a number of safeguards for landlords. Those recognise that there are circumstances when enforcement of an eviction order or decree should proceed to protect communities—for example, in instances of serious antisocial behaviour—and to strike an appropriate balance between the protection of tenants and the rights of landlords.

In summary, the latest evidence shows that the cost crisis is still very much with us. It is crucial that we continue the remaining protections in the 2022 act beyond 30 September. If the committee agrees to recommend approval, it will remain the case that, for this final period, I will continue to keep the measures under review, to consider their on-going necessity and proportionality and to advise the Parliament through regular reporting—the next report is due to be laid no later than 14 October.

I thank the committee for its continued interest in the issue and for its scrutiny of the regulations. I am happy to answer any questions that members have.

Absolutely. The increase in intra-tenancy rents is significant. It is significant both down south and here, partly because of economic circumstances and partly because of the unregulated nature of those rental increases. For me, that reinforces the need to continue to make progress on the development of the new housing bill and a rent control system for Scotland that will be fully effective, rather than our relying on emergency legislation that can protect only people in tenancies. The 2022 act, as emergency legislation, was only ever going to be able to do that. It was also only ever going to be temporary, as it has to be subject to the continual test of necessity and proportionality.

It is very clear that the affordability issues in the private rented sector more generally require longer-term reform, which the Scottish Government is committed to.

I do not expect the new-build heat standard to impact on the number of planning applications. That concern might be slightly misplaced.

Clearly, developers need to be at the point of making applications that they know will command confidence and comply with the building standards. Many are already doing that. As I have said, many forward-thinking housing developers are already making that a default expectation in their new developments. Antonia Georgieva will come in on some of the planning issues and NPF4.